The search for diversity within books has increased, not just with secondary characters but main characters. The world wants to see a fabulous palette of colors and cultures among the stories they read and the publishing industry is responding! This prompted literary agent Beth Phelan of Galt & Zacker Literary Agency to create DVpit.

According to the site, #DVpitis a twitter event created to showcase pitches about and by marginalized voices. This includes (but is not limited to): Native peoples and people of color; people living and/or born/raised in underrepresented cultures and countries; disabled persons; people with illness; people on marginalized ends of the socioeconomic, cultural and/or religious spectrum; people identifying as LGBTQIA+; and more.

October 17 will be for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction (all genres, commercial and literary).

Each day the event will run from 8am-8pm ET using the hashtag #DVpit. Be sure and pitch your manuscript on the correct day because agents/editors will search the feed on the specific day of the category and genres they represent/acquire. And finally, make sure you follow the guidelines for pitching.

If you’re an illustrator, don’t miss this opportunity to have Sharismar Rodriguez, Associate Art Director for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt BFYR look over your illustrations and provide feedback. Published or unpublished: This is a great way to get your artwork seen. The deadline for submitting for this limited 5 week Sharismar appearance is August 20th, 2017.

Sharismar Rodriguez is an Associate Art Director for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers where she designs and art directs children’s books for all ages, from Picture Books to Middle Grade and YA novels and Non-Fiction volumes. She started her career in children’s publishing right after obtaining her BFA in Visual Communications from Parsons School of Design.

The 4th Annual Book Pipeline Competition seeks material for film or television adaptation. Open to writers worldwide, the contest accepts any genre, fiction or non-fiction. Published and unpublished works are both acceptable.

The deadline for Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest is approaching. All unpublished entries must be received by February 17, 2017. This is also a chance to get feedback on your work. There are twelve categories:

mainstream

historical

romance/women’s fiction

mystery/thriller

sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal

young adult

middle grade

nonfiction/memoir

poetry

short story

children’s picture/chapter book

adult short topics (articles/essays/memoir)

There are three monetary prizes:

FIRST PLACE:$600

SECOND PLACE:$300

THIRD PLACE: $100

Eight finalist will receive two critiques on their submissions. The agents and editors participating in the PNWA‘s summer conference will pick winners out of the finalists. Go here for complete details. As always, good luck!

The rules clearly state to only pitch THREE times per manuscript during the contest. Don’t break the rules and clog the feed! Also, please remember anyone can stalk the feed. So, do your research before submitting your manuscript!

Glamour is sponsoring a writing contest because they believe every woman has a moment in her life that changes everything. Oh, so true! If you’ve had one of these moments, Glamour wants to know. To enter, you need to write an essay of no more than 3500 words by November 2, 2016. The winner could win $5000, have story published in Glamour, and speak with a top New York literary agent.

Go here for complete rules and here for the submission form. As always, good luck!

In just a few days, #PBPitch will begin for picture book authors and illustrators. The event will be Thursday, October 27th, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. For those wanting to participate, here are the rules:

*Pitch your PBs on twitter using #PBPitch.*Pitch manuscripts only ONCE in the morning and ONCE in the Evening. (Once before 2pm and once after.)*If you are an author/illustrator, you can attach an image to your PB manuscript pitch.
*Include Subgenre # if it applies.
#F=Funny
#CD = Character Driven
#NF = Nonfiction
#C= Concept
#L= Lyrical
#I= Interactive
#FT=Fairy Tale/Folk Tale

Only agents and editors should favorite a pitch. If they do, be sure to do your research before submitting (as anyone can trawl the feed). But here are a few legitimate agents that have said they’ll be stopping by:

A writer’s retreat in Iceland? Can I get a woot-woot? The Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni Award offers talented writers in need of financial support an opportunity to attend the Iceland Writers Retreat in Reykjavík, Iceland in April, 2017. Per their website, entrants can apply for either full or partial funding. Full funding covers all participation in the Iceland Writers Retreat. The scholarship includes round-trip flights to Iceland and accommodations. Partial funding covers the participant fee only, and neither accommodation nor round trip flights.

Originally from Los Angeles, Annie first worked in journalism before moving to New York to pursue her love of book publishing. Since joining Folio Literary Management she has had the pleasure of working with both debut and seasoned authors alike. Find her on Twitter: @AnnieAHwang. She specializes in all categories of literary and upmarket fiction. In addition, she loves working with debut authors who have a gift for storytelling and are able immerse her deep within a well-built world in the space of a few sentences. Braided narratives, layered plots, and characters with deep emotional resonance all occupy a strong place in her heart . Annie is also open to nonfiction in the categories of pop science, diet/health/fitness, food, lifestyle, humor, pop culture, and select narrative nonfiction.

The contest is now live and runs through the end of October 10, 2016 (PST). There will be three winners! First place wins a critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work by your agent judge (and she reserves the right to request the full manuscript). Second place gets a free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value)! And third place gets their choice of any of Chuck’s two new books coming out in September 2017 (the Guide to Literary Agents 2017 or the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market 2017).

Be sure to check out the submission guidelinesand pay close attention to a few things you need to do in order to be eligible. And as always, good luck!

It’s getting close to Halloween, which means Nightmare On Query Street is soon! But don’t let the title fool you into thinking you’re manuscript won’t qualify. The title is more about when the contest takes place. You can enter any age category or genre, excluding picture books and erotica.

The submission window opens at 4:00 pm (EST) on October 14th. All entries sent before this time will be deleted. For this years contest, there are 25 agents lined up! TWENTY FIVE! How awesome is that? But you’d better be on your toes if you want to submit. They will close submissions when they reach 250 entries or in two hours, whichever is first.

Michelle, Mike, and Laura will make 13 picks each. Then a few mentors they’ve selected will help the authors hone their entries before the agent round. On October 29 through October 30, the entries will go live for the agents to select.

Some rules to take note of:

You are not eligible if you’ve been in an agent round in the last six months. (This does not include open twitter pitches.)

You can enter if you have a different manuscript to enter than previous agent round you were in.

Only ONE entry per person. (No using multiple emails or pen names!)

You’ll need to send you query and first 250 words, along with a short paragraph (no more than 100 words) answering this question: What is your main character’s most stressful relationship? Who really makes them sweat?

For complete details and submission formatting, go here. Also, be on the look out on each of their blogs for FREE PASSES!